Key FOB Security

[Air’d outSRT]

Greetings...
Fell down the rabbit hole on recent news about thefts of our vehicles using the vehicle's key fob code transmission.
Ordered a faraday case for my fobs to use when on trips to the big city...
However, I'm looking at my emergency key and instruction for it's use if the fob battery fails.
Now I'm wondering, can I just remove the fob battery and use the emergency process to access and start the vehicle when in sketchy country? Without the battery the fob won't be transmitting a signal to repeat/record. The hard key can get me into the vehicle. I can lock up the vehicle using the armrest button when exiting.
So I guess my question is, does anyone know how long the fob will keep it's emergency (pressing dash button with fob) start capability after the fob battery dies/is removed?
How long does the fob chip retain it's coding function without the fob battery?

Technically yes but that stops one form of theft that is used 5-10% of the time. They will just delete and make a new fob in 60 seconds and drive it away. Get real anti theft like IGLA that blocks all of that and more.

 

[Someolddude]

Certainly, there are some solid anti-theft systems out there, but for the folk who might not have the financial resources to afford one, or the need for daily protection, what I'm proposing is a no cost action that might provide temporary protection when heading for a day trip to the big city or a road trip down the east coast.
For the sake of argument... (and my position is weak, only using Google and some nerd power) In removing the battery from the fob you've eliminated the broadcast capability of the code. I don't think deleting and making a new fob is feasible without an initial piece of code from it. With the battery removed, the fob chip now relies on a weak electro-magnetic field produced at your dash button to communicate.
Unless someone can get close enough to you, or has an antenna powerful enough, your code is now secure. (...is that a cell tower hangin' outta yer ***, or are you just happy to see me)
Apparently the devices that can capture, copy, and manipulate the code are cheap and plentiful.
For me, it's a piece of mind that the truck (with ma's knitting and pa's glock in it) might still be there after me 'n ma have taken our pee break at the Clara Barton rest stop on our way to visit family down south.
Us old retiree's worry about stuff like that.

 

[Eighty]

Certainly, there are some solid anti-theft systems out there, but for the folk who might not have the financial resources to afford one, or the need for daily protection, what I'm proposing is a no cost action that might provide temporary protection when heading for a day trip to the big city or a road trip down the east coast.
For the sake of argument... (and my position is weak, only using Google and some nerd power) In removing the battery from the fob you've eliminated the broadcast capability of the code. I don't think deleting and making a new fob is feasible without an initial piece of code from it. With the battery removed, the fob chip now relies on a weak electro-magnetic field produced at your dash button to communicate.
Unless someone can get close enough to you, or has an antenna powerful enough, your code is now secure. (...is that a cell tower hangin' outta yer ***, or are you just happy to see me)
Apparently the devices that can capture, copy, and manipulate the code are cheap and plentiful.
For me, it's a piece of mind that the truck (with ma's knitting and pa's glock in it) might still be there after me 'n ma have taken our pee break at the Clara Barton rest stop on our way to visit family down south.
Us old retiree's worry about stuff like that.

Unfortunately, your theory only works for the theft method that involves cloning the fob signal.
A laptop, some cheap software, and a blank key fob are all that’s needed to program a new key. They don’t need your current fob at all.

 

[2020GCM]

Unfortunately, your theory only works for the theft method that involves cloning the fob signal.
A laptop, some cheap software, and a blank key fob are all that’s needed to program a new key. They don’t need your current fob at all.

and to do this they don't need access to the OBD port, they go to the canbus connector behind the headlight switch?

 

[Eighty]

and to do this they don't need access to the OBD port, they go to the canbus connector behind the headlight switch?

Yep

 

[Air’d outSRT]

and to do this they don't need access to the OBD port, they go to the canbus connector behind the headlight switch?

That is one location they can go, its just the fastest and easiest and right next to the sgw which makes it even faster. They could technically T into the can almost anywhere, they just need to bypass the sgw

 

[Eighty]

In case anyone is wondering about how rampant thefts are, here are a couple more "my truck was stolen" threads that have popped up in the 13 days since I posted the last list:

2/27/24:

TRX stolen last night, need advice

I parked my TRX in a gated parking garage at my airport and got on a plane. While on my trip I get a Mopar EVTS GPS alert that the truck left the geo fence area that it was in. At that point I contacted the police department and the GPS company to initiate the recovery process. It seems like the...

www.ram-trx.com

2/24/24:

Houston did it again…….TRX Broken into.

Hey Guys, So it happened last night, grey challenger parked behind my truck and broke the back passenger window. Alarm went off and triggered the train horns that I have installed. The tanks have about 7 seconds inside them. Bunch of other security fun plus a Compustar with drone which alerted...

www.ram-trx.com

2/17/24:

Sick TRX stolen in San Diego

Spreading the word just because this is a nice *** TRX with a lot of money invested. I would hate to lose it.

www.ram-trx.com

2/15/24:

I'm Back

Hey fellow TRX owners, Sheepishly I have returned to the forum after getting my '21 Billet Silver stolen a few weeks ago after 2-1/2 years of ownership. I hadn't been on the forum for a long time since I did most of my intended mods when I first bought the truck and got busy building my...

www.ram-trx.com

 

[DEG]

Social media tends to mislead people into believing certain incidents are more rampant than they are in reality. The odds of someone creating a post reporting a stolen vehicle are astronomically higher than the odds of someone creating a post saying their vehicle was not stolen.

 

[FLiPMaRC]

My take away from this thread is, I now know what color vehicle to buy when I retire

 

[Eighty]

Wait - the takeaway was supposed to be something like, "Don't worry about theft. Statistically, it's not likely to happen to you. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to mislead and scare you."

 

[vtcats]

Not to hijack this thread, I can start a new one if necessary. But I see many people responding have a TAZER DT listed in their current equipment if their truck. While I did briefly look at the website for this, can anyone summarize how this works and/or how easy it is to beat? That part is obviously not on their website.
Also, is this something people remove if bringing in for warranty service? Thanks

 

[Eighty]

Not to hijack this thread, I can start a new one if necessary. But I see many people responding have a TAZER DT listed in their current equipment if their truck. While I did briefly look at the website for this, can anyone summarize how this works and/or how easy it is to beat? That part is obviously not on their website.
Also, is this something people remove if bringing in for warranty service? Thanks

It's generally a good idea to remove it before taking your truck in for service (I always do) - no reason to give the service department an excuse to claim voided warranty.

As far as a security device, it's not one. There's a fun feature that kinda pretends to be anti-theft, but it's not at all robust. Pull the Tazer, spend a few seconds relearing throttle parameters, and drive away. Or something like that, anyways. If you are actually serious about securing your truck, don't consider the Tazer. At least, not for security.

 

[Eighty]

Another theft attempt on the TRX forum this morning. Stopped by IGLA.

2/28/24:

NOT Stolen...

Thanks to IGLA. I think? They broke into the rear slider, and took apart the dash a bit. Stole a credit card and an old radar detector I had in the back seat, that's about it. Truck seems to start up fine. Just wondering what/where this green board should go. Anyone know?

www.ram-trx.com

 

[Air’d outSRT]

Not to hijack this thread, I can start a new one if necessary. But I see many people responding have a TAZER DT listed in their current equipment if their truck. While I did briefly look at the website for this, can anyone summarize how this works and/or how easy it is to beat? That part is obviously not on their website.
Also, is this something people remove if bringing in for warranty service? Thanks

Tazer is an options changer when it actually works, nothing more.

 

[HSKR R/T]

It's generally a good idea to remove it before taking your truck in for service (I always do) - no reason to give the service department an excuse to claim voided warranty.

As far as a security device, it's not one. There's a fun feature that kinda pretends to be anti-theft, but it's not at all robust. Pull the Tazer, spend a few seconds relearing throttle parameters, and drive away. Or something like that, anyways. If you are actually serious about securing your truck, don't consider the Tazer. At least, not for security.

It's a deterentz justike 90% of other security devices. Not every thief will have the equipment or knowledge to bypass it. It's not as simple as removing it and relearning throttle parameters, depending on which features you use. If the only thing you have enabled is throttle kill, maybe.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Tazer is an options changer when it actually works, nothing more.

It's more than that. alfaObd is an options changer, and nothing more. TazerDT offers several features that are more than just option changes

 

[HSKR R/T]

Not to hijack this thread, I can start a new one if necessary. But I see many people responding have a TAZER DT listed in their current equipment if their truck. While I did briefly look at the website for this, can anyone summarize how this works and/or how easy it is to beat? That part is obviously not on their website.
Also, is this something people remove if bringing in for warranty service? Thanks

Are you talking about how it works as a security device, or just in general? Because the answer will vary based on what you are asking

 

[Eighty]

It's more than that. alfaObd is an options changer, and nothing more. TazerDT offers several features that are more than just option changes

Dude, I wouldn't challenge @Air'd outSRT on vehicle security. As far as I'm concerned, he's the most knowledgeable person on any truck forum. A couple of TRX guys got mouthy about Ravelco, so he posted a video on how to defeat it in seconds (literally). He'd probably do the same with the Tazer if you got him upset.
@Air'd outSRT - don't do it please lol.

 

[vtcats]

Are you talking about how it works as a security device, or just in general? Because the answer will vary based on what you are asking

Both but I think the security part has been answered

 

[HSKR R/T]

Dude, I wouldn't challenge @Air'd outSRT on vehicle security. As far as I'm concerned, he's the most knowledgeable person on any truck forum. A couple of TRX guys got mouthy about Ravelco, so he posted a video on how to defeat it in seconds (literally). He'd probably do the same with the Tazer if you got him upset.
@Air'd outSRT - don't do it please lol.

My reply to him wasnt even about the security features. It was about his obvious disdain towards the product and over simplifying what it does.

Seems you are just poking the bear to try and cause drama. I mean, people didn'tike me doing that when I was an admin